Nepal
In 1951, the Nepalese monarch ended the century-old system of rule by hereditary premiers and instituted a cabinet system of government. A brief experiment with multi-party politics in 1959 ended with King Mahendra suspending parliament and taking sole charge. Reforms in 1991, following popular protests, established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy. Democratic politics in Nepal have been extremely factionalized, with frequent changes of government.
The current monarch has twice assumed executive powers - in 2002 and 2005. The king sacked the government in February 2005, assumed absolute power and appointed a mainly pro-monarchist cabinet. He said the former administration, under Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, had failed to stem rebel violence and to organize elections. The monarch's actions triggered protests at home and criticism from abroad.
King Gyanendra recalled parliament in April 2006 after weeks of strikes and protests against his direct rule. Gyanendra appointed the veteran politician GP Koirala, an octogenarian, as prime minister. Weeks later, parliament voted unanimously to curtail the monarch's political powers, effectively rendering him a ceremonial figure. (His youngest son, Paras, is the heir to the throne.) The leaders of a seven-party alliance selected Prime Minister Koirala as their candidate to head the new government.
Meanwhile, Maoist rebels intent on setting up a communist republic had been waging a campaign against the constitutional monarchy in a conflict that has left more than 12,000 people dead since it started in 1996. The UN says the rebellion has displaced more than 100,000 people. While the Maoists do not appear to have external support, they use extortion to raise funds, forcing professionals in villages to pay “taxes” to the Maoist movement.
When King Gyanendra ended his direct rule in April 2006 the rebels entered talks on how to end the civil war. In November 2006, Nepal's top rebel leader, Prachanda, declared an end to violence, with a peace deal that provided for the Maoists to join an interim government within a month. The accord was welcomed by Nepal's politicians, as well as by India, the US and UK. Prachanda told journalist, "Our experiences have shown we could not achieve our goals through armed revolution so we have chosen the path of negotiation and formed an alliance with the political parties.” He promised that the parallel state that the Maoists run in much of Nepal would be dissolved once they entered government.
Until inclusion in the government is achieved, the rebels will be confined to seven camps. They will keep the keys to their weapons but will be separated from them and the locks will be closely monitored by the UN.
There was some skepticism amid the residents of Kathmandu. In one suburb, hundreds of people stopped traffic and burned tires, shouting slogans against the rebels. They condemned the rebels for visiting homes demanding that Maoists coming to the city for a rally be given food and shelter. The rebels denied exerting such pressures.
Reports persist that the rebels continue to recruit willing and unwilling fighters, and to extort money from villagers.
Meanwhile, the thorny issue of the future of the already disempowered monarchy will be determined at the first gathering of a constituent assembly due to be elected by June 2007. The institution's fate will be decided by a simple majority.
With the world's highest mountain, Everest, and spectacular scenery and wildlife, Nepal has great potential as a tourist destination. Its environmental challenges, however, include deforestation, encroachment on animal habitats and vehicle pollution in the capital, Kathmandu.
Nepal has been at odds with neighboring Bhutan over the repatriation of thousands of refugees living in camps in Nepal. The refugees - Bhutanese of Nepalese descent - fled violence in their homeland in the early 1990s.
Most of the population depend on agriculture, and around 40% of Nepalis are estimated to live in poverty. Foreign aid is vital to sustaining the Nepalese economy, and the country is also dependent on trade with neighboring India.
The peace deal described above offers hope of an end to violence and extortion by Maoist rebels; events in the coming months will affect Nepal's security situation.
Until the peace deal, Nepal's government had been battling a Maoist rebel insurgency since 1996 that has left nearly 13,000 people dead. Consequently, Nepal had been under a State of Emergency since November 2001.
In rural areas outside the Kathmandu Valley, particularly in the western provinces and the districts of Banke, Dang Syangja, Surkhet, Rukum, Kalikot, Achham, Jajarkot, Rolpa, Salyan and Gorka, police patrols and civilians saw frequent attacks from the insurgents. In addition, the locally owned Coca-Cola bottling plants in Kathmandu and in Bharatpur were the targets of bomb attacks in recent years. Visits to businesses with high public visibility, as well as to government offices should be kept as brief as possible.
Official and unofficial curfews are in force in many parts of the country, including an unofficial curfew in Kathmandu where bars and restaurants are encouraged to close well before midnight. Countrywide night time curfews have been on short notice. Army and police checkpoints are common. Visitors should abide by curfew restrictions and follow the instructions of security forces.
Public demonstrations and strikes are popular forms of political expression in Nepal, and they may occur on short notice. These demonstrations are usually nonviolent and not directed towards foreigners. On occasion, however, rock throwers have targeted vehicles, and acts of intimidation by strike supporters have been reported. During a general strike (called a "bandh" in Nepal), many businesses close, and transportation and city services may be disrupted. Visitors should exercise caution and to avoid travel from the evening immediately preceding a strike through the evening of the strike.
